I believe in bending the rules, finding shortcuts, and people bringing their own spark of innovation to their work.In a business, in order to do that you have to rely on standardized, documented work.
That's how you know the rules to bend, the paths to cut short, and the connections innovation needs to make.
Most businesses run on a unique combination of word of mouth, deprecated documentation, and cobbled together solutions that just work. In running our operations management agency, I've spoken to dozens of business owners who were sure that things work great because they've always done things that way, but also felt stuck - because their systems weren't able to grow with their company.
The solution I want to show you in this post is a Business Handbook, the single best ROI initiative you can take on. It encapsulates what your company does and how it does it, it serves as a roadmap for your team, a reference point for employees, and a training tool for newcomers to quickly learn the ropes.
Let's see what it is in more detail.
The Business Handbook: How To Build One, In a Nutshell
Don’t actually build one in a nutshell; trust me, it’s cramped, and nobody likes reading micro-print.
A Business Handbook is a collection of the essential documents a business needs - the most frequently asked questions, the most common explanations, the core processes that make your company tick. Essentially, it's a collection of three types of documents:
- A Map of Your Core Business Process
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Each Step on That Map
- Instructions for the Tools and Services Used Along the Way
Sure, there are tons of other things in your business that you and your team know, but we're covering the basics here - the foundation out of which documenting every nook and cranny will grow from. It's important to keep the focus narrow and sharp for now.
Mapping Your Core Business Process
What does your business do? That's your core business process. There are plenty of things to consider when documenting how your business operates, but at the very least, you should be documenting how your business does what it does.
So start there. Strip it down to the bare minimum: if you had one client, and did the thing you do for clietns just once, how would that look like?
Think about the whole process as a story. Write out the steps in that story as a numbered list, and don't get stuck in the details. Let's say you are a designer and your business is creating logos for local businesses. Excluding any sales processes, your core process would look like this:
- Send Onboarding Form
- Design Two Versions of the Card
- Send for Feedback
- Iterate Based on Feedback, Create Final Version
- Send for Second Round of Feedback
In this first stage, focus on the most important part of the process, the mandatory steps without which the outcome wouldn't happen.
Later on, you can flesh it out and add the pieces that make this into a well rounded experience. In our example above, you can add steps for:
- Upselling clients to other services (i.e. Web Development)
- Discussing Additional Charges when Feedback Asks for Things that Are Out of Scope
- Post-Delivery Follow-Up
- Review and Improve the Process
Documenting SOPs
Now that you documented your core business process and know the story of what you do, you need to document how you do that.
Each of the steps outlined in your process should be listed as a list of step by step instructions. How detailed should you make things? Someone in the industry with general knowledge of your type of business should be able to follow along.
Or think of it another way: put yourself in the shoes of your least experienced employee. Write these instructions to a level of depth that would make them complete the task at hand.
There is a lot that goes into what it means to write an SOP, but for now all you need is a simple set of instructions. Make it simple, make it easy to follow, and just follow the basics.
There are a lot of tools that you can use to help you write high quality SOPs - Flowster is one that comes to mind for someone who isn't very experienced in writing these - and you can also have ChatGPT help you.
One thing to note: when you think you are done, give it a read with fresh eyes, or have someone on your team read the SOP to make sure it's easy to understand and covers all the necessary steps.
Writing auxiliary instructions
The point of writing SOPs is to teach people how to use the tools you put at their disposal to do what you need them to do. But if you start teaching them how those tools work, you'll be creating a hundred times more paperwork.
So I recommend creating a series of auxiliary instructions that teach people how to use your tools, the way you have them set up, in your organization specifically.
As an example, you might want to teach people how to navigate through your organization's Google Drive. This doesn't mean you will teach people how to use Google Drive! Instead, it should be a walkthrough of your file systems and integrations.
Same goes for project management tools like ClickUp or Asana, or any other specialized tools you're using in your process.
As you write your SOPs, as you build your core business process, write down any of the tools you rely on and make sure there's are clear instructions on to use them. If your setup is small, it might be as simple as adding a few paragraphs in a document - the more complex your organization, the larger the documentation.
The Business Handbook: General Principles
As you've seen, a Business Handbook is a simple way to get your business more organized without getting too deep in jargon and bureaucracy.
Simple as it is though, nuance is key. So, I’ve collected a series of general principles or best practices to keep in mind as you take on this exercise.
Don't rely on AI too much!
It might be tempting to just ask ChatGPT to produce everything I mentioned in this post. I would caution against it!
Draft the first version yourself, and use ChatGPT to refine it, but doing it through AI first will produce something that's definitely not reflective of your business.
Start simple, aim for straightforward
Whenever you face a daunting task, it’s easy to get discouraged and start procrastinating. Trust me—I started writing this post five weeks ago, and in that time, my inbox has never been emptier, nor my house cleaner.
So, start simple. Aim to get things done at the broadest level possible, then fill in the gaps as you move along. Your initial goal should be to create a basic framework that you can refine over time.
Polish it later
Your aim should be to have a working draft by the end of the week (unless it’s Thursday night). Your ambition should be to have an extremely polished, detailed handbook by the end of next month.
Don’t get bogged down in perfection from the get-go. Version 1 is better than Version None.
Be aware of limitations - process can't capture creativity
Wherever creativity is involved, you can’t checklist your way to brilliance.
These instructions are there for things that require instructions—obviously. Think of your SOPs as the skeleton of your operations; the muscles and flair come from the people executing them. Allow room for creativity where it’s due. For tasks that require innovation, use guidelines rather than strict procedures.
Also, when actually doing the work, don't expect your team to go through each step every time. Rather, notice what they are doing - or more importantly, what they are not doing - and update and adapt your materials accordingly.
Update often
A couple of times, when working with clients of our operations management agency, I heard the phrase "oh, we already have SOPs!", only to discover a buried archive of documents sitting untouched and unopened for the past 2+ years.
If that's you, then nope, you don't have SOPs.
Things are in motion faster than ever before, and you need to keep up with the times. Make sure you review your processes and procedures every few weeks, and update them every time you see a deviation from what's actually going on in practice.
It's easier to update a few lines at a time every month than to recreate everything from scratch every year, and it's more effective, too!
One trick to keeping things updated is to make room for updating in relevant SOPs. Include steps for reflection, feedback, and updates.
For example, the last step in an SOP could be:
• Step 10: “After completing this task, note any challenges faced and suggest improvements to this SOP on Slack in #feedback.”
Involve everyone
The first version of the Business Handbook described here is something you as a business owner should create.
The first final version should be something everyone on your team contributed to.
Everyone has their own view on things, and with each perspective comes an opportunity to improve the process as a whole. This will help your team own the process, and help them follow it and contribute to it regularly.
Create a feedback channel where your team can suggest updates, and make sure you actually take feedback into account!
Have the final say
Everyone’s opinion is valuable, but you should have the final say - at least while first implementing the Business Handbook as an organizational habit.
While it’s crucial to involve your team, it’s equally important to ensure that the handbook remains coherent and aligned with your business goals.
If and when you decide to step out of managing your core business process, make sure someone is delegated with this responsibility.
Use tools to make documentation easier
Don’t manually do everything. Here are a few tools you could use:
- Loom (or similar) for video recording quick walkthroughs.
- Process Street (or similar) for recording SOPs in an interactive format.
- Google Docs for collaborative editing.
- Miro for flowchart creation.
Leverage technology to make the documentation process smoother and more engaging.
Make it impossible to ignore
Where does your team work? Put all documentation there. Make it so that nobody can go about their day without seeing the processes and SOPs. Don’t let it blend into the background, talk about it!
For example, if your team uses Slack, pin important documents in relevant channels. If you’re using a project management tool, link SOPs directly within tasks.
Bring up the documents containing the SOPs every chance you get, otherwise they will be lost in the background and all your effort will have been wasted.
Measure impact - use KPIs
What are the KPIs your team uses or cares about? Embed this handbook into those metrics.
For instance, you could track the time it takes to onboard a new client before and after implementing the handbook. If you see a significant reduction, share that win with the team.
Or track the average client lifetime value - did it go up after implementing your Business Handbook?
Case Study: Phil's Business
To illustrate the transformative power of a Business Handbook, we'll use Phil's business as a case study.
Phil owns a graphic design agency and he's looking to actually be a business owner rather than a swiss army man in his company.
He's at a familiar crossroads: after several successful years entrenched in day-to-day operations—managing his small staff and handling client deliverables—he’s overwhelmed. Secondary tasks like sales, accounting, recruiting, networking, and key account management have piled up. His single role has morphed into many, and months of burnout have left him considering whether to let go or give up entirely.
Determined to give his business one last shot, Phil decides to build a business handbook.
The Challenge
Phil’s graphic design agency had grown faster than he anticipated. What started as a one-man show blossomed into a small team handling multiple clients. But with growth came chaos. Phil found himself wearing too many hats—designer, manager, salesperson, accountant.
Secondary tasks piled up:
- Sales: Following up with leads was sporadic at best.
- Accounting: Invoices were sent late, and cash flow was unpredictable.
- Recruiting: Onboarding new designers was a nightmare of inconsistent training.
- Networking: Phil had zero time to attend industry events or engage online.
- Key Account Management: VIP clients felt neglected, putting valuable relationships at risk.
Phil was spinning plates, and they were all about to crash.
The Solution
Determined to save his sanity and his company, Phil decides to focus on growth, and to leave the running of the business itself to his team.
Step 1: Mapping the Core Business Process
He akes a step back and looks at his core business process: Phil's company creates beautiful virtual business cards for solo entrepreneurs, mini websites that his clients and their audiences love.
That's the core process to focus on. The rest can come later.
So Phil sits down and asks himself what the core business process looks like, beginning to end, taking a recent client as an example.
- Client Inquiry
- Initial Consultation
- Proposal & Contract
- Client Onboarding
- Creative Brief
- Design Concept Development
- Client Review (Concept)
- Revisions (if needed)
- Final Design Approval
- Development & Buildout
- Quality Assurance & Testing
- Final Client Review
- Launch
- Client Training & Handover
- Post-Launch Support
- Follow-Up & Feedback
Step 2: Documenting SOPs
Next, Phil created detailed SOPs for each step.Example: Step 4 - Onboarding Process InitiatedSend Welcome Email
- Use the “Welcome Template” from the email templates folder.
- Personalize the email with the client’s name and project details.
Share Onboarding Form
- Attach the onboarding form link.
- Explain the importance of this form in the email.
Set Up Client Folder
- Create a new folder in Google Drive under “Clients.”
- Share the folder with the client and relevant team members.
By documenting each step, Phil ensured that anyone in his team could handle the onboarding process without his direct involvement. Also notice how this is the barebones version of an SOP, which Phil can later expand on using video and more details.
Step 3: Writing Auxiliary Instructions
Phil realized that some team members struggled with the tools they used, like the project management software and file-sharing systems.
He created auxiliary guides:
How to Use Asana in Our Team
- Project setup
- Task assignments
- Communication protocols
Navigating Our Google Drive
- Folder structures
- Naming conventions
- Access permissions
Step 4: Implementing and Involving the Team
Phil didn’t keep this handbook to himself. He held a team meeting to introduce the handbook and explained its importance.
He encouraged feedback:
- Team Workshops: Held weekly sessions to go over sections of the handbook.
- Feedback Forms: Created a simple Google Form for team members to suggest improvements.
- Assigned Ownership: Designated team leads to own different sections of the handbook.
The Results
Within weeks, Phil noticed significant changes:
- Efficiency Improved: Tasks were completed faster because everyone knew exactly what to do.
- Consistent Client Experience: Clients received the same high level of service, no matter who they interacted with.
- Reduced Errors: Mistakes decreased because processes were clearly outlined.
- Time Freed Up: Phil had more time to focus on strategic growth initiatives rather than putting out fires.
- Team Empowerment: Employees felt more confident and autonomous.
The Transformation
Phil’s business not only stabilized but started to grow again—this time sustainably.
He even found time to attend that industry conference he’d been putting off, where he landed two new major clients.
Phil summed it up best: “Creating the business handbook was like decluttering my brain and the entire business. I only wish I’d done it sooner.”
Conclusion
One thing that people often get wrong about documenting processes is that it's just paperwork. Building a business handbook isn’t just about creating documents; it’s about creating freedom—freedom from being the bottleneck, freedom to scale, and freedom to focus on what truly matters.
Like Phil, you might be juggling too many roles, feeling overwhelmed by the daily grind. But with a well-crafted business handbook, you can transform your operations, empower your team, and unlock unprecedented growth.
So grab that cup of coffee, sit down, and start mapping out your core processes. Your future self—and your business—will thank you.